Buckle for belts



Nov, 2 1924. 1,517,014

G. E. PRENTICE BUCKLE FOR BELTS Filed Nov. 26. 1923 36 fm/Enzar m 6 PM 1 m,

Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

UNITED STATES GEORGE E. PRENTICE, F BERLIN, CONNECTICUT.

BUCKLE FOR BELTS.

Application filed November 26, 1923. Serial No. 676,920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. PRENTICE,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Berlin, in the county of Hartford and State 6 of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles for Belts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in 1 buckles for belts of the general form that is shown and described in the patent issued to myself and Robert C. Legat under date of September 26, 1922, No. 1330255, and the object of the present invention is to provide improved means as to the detail of limiting the movement of the slide-plate and also to incorporate in the structure means for posi-. tively ensuring an initial starting said slideplate towards the clamping position.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved buckle for belts, showing parts of the belt with which it is used.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a side view of the same.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the buckle only.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Figure 6 is a similar view with the parts in a different position.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the slide-plate, previous to having the sides turned up.

Figure 8 is a view of the blank for the 35 lever.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view of the 00- operating elements on the slide-plate and the lever for ensuring a movement of the plate in the direction for clamping.

Figure 10 is a rear elevation of a modification of the buckle having different means for limiting the slide-plate, being on the same scale as Fig. 1.

Figure 11 is a view of the blank for the 45 frame.

Figure 12 is a side View of the buckle.

Figure 13 is a sectional view of the same, showing the limiting lug, being enlarged and in part broken away.

Figure 14 a fragmentary perspective view of the free end portion of the long arm of the clamping lever, showing the end bar for receiving the fixed end of the belt and also the two laterally disposed pendant 55 flanges or lugs.

My improved buckle for belts comprises a body or frame 10, a sliding member or slide-plate 11, and a clamping lever 12 that cooperate to clamp the movable or adjustable end portion 13 of the belt 1 1.

The fixed end 15 of the belt 14 is secured by means of a loop of ordinary form on the receiving bar 16 that is provided at one end of the lever 12. The other end 17 of said lever 12 is in the form of a nose that operates to effect the clamping of the belt end 13 in amanner substantially as described in the patent mentioned, involving a sliding movement of the slide-plate 11.

The clamping lever 12 has the bar 16 at one end and the clamping nose 17 at the other end, as described, and intermediate said ends is bent along a transverse line 34 to form a substantially right-angled structure, said line or bend representing the junction of a short portion having the nose 17 and a relatively long portion 16 that terminates .in the form of the bar 16 Adjacent the bend 34 are i the pintles 18.

The end bar 16 is supported by a pair of side arms or bars 33 and between said arms or bars 33 is the openinglo for the belt end.

The material of the clamping lever 12 is sheet metal and in the case of the side arms or bars 33 the material is given a downward bend each along a longitudinally directed line 37 so as to position the same generally in pendant relation to the adjacent parts of the structure of the lever and thus be adapted to operate as lugs for a special purpose to be described. In such bent position the lat eral edges 38 of the blank shown in Fig. 8 are on the lower or inner side and serve as the contacting edges or faces in effecting the special purpose referred to.

In Fig. 8 the junction 34- of the long portion 16 and the short portion having the nose 17 of the clamping lever 12 is indicated by a broken line.

The body 10 has a plate-like front wall 19 that is bordered at the top and bottom edges by the side walls 20 that project rearwardly.

The slide-plate 11 is made of sheet metal, is opposed to the rear face of the front wall 19 and fits between the side walls 20. Transverse ribs 21 are provided, positioned in 1011- gitudinally spaced relation and connected by the intermediate body portion 22, the latter being generally in close, relation to the op laterally projecting or shaped to provide a valley ribs. In the blank shown in lug. 7 the posed portion of the front wall 19, the ribs 21 being directed rearwardly. relatively to said front wall 19.

The intermediate body port-ion 22 that is between the transverse ribs 21 iscurved between said intermediate transverse line 22 indicates the lowest or deepest part of the valley that. is provided in the intermediate body portion 22;

The structure of-the slide-plate i1 is given a generally channel form by being bent at the sides along the longitudinally directed lines 39 of Fig. 7 that denote the side edges of'the main body portion, the parts connected along said lines 39 being in the form of side flanges 24 that carry on their free edges the lugs 23 and. 31 to be described.

In the present instance the pintles 18 are utilized for limiting the sliding movement ofthe slide-plate 11 and for cooperating therewith the latter is provided with suitablerearwardly directed lugs 28, positioned in spaced relation and with the pintles positioned therebetween. For supporting the limiting lugs 23 and providing a proper elevation thereof there are provided supporting flanges 24; along the lateral edges of the body portion 22, said lugs 23 bein extensions of the free ed es of said flanges 24.

The side walls 20 of the buckle. body 10 are extended rearwardly to provide ears 25' that have bearing openings 26 for the pintles 18, the parts being constructed and arranged so that the contacting nose 17 and the ribs 21 cooperate to provide a circuitous path for the belt endl3 that is held by the clamp ing devices.

The side walls 20 may have, as shown, inwardly directed wings 27 that extend over the rear side of the belt receiving space for cooperating in guiding the belt end 13 towards the clamping devices, said wings 27 being located at what may be designated as the receiving end 28 of the buckle structure. The other end 30. of the buckle sup ports the clamping devices and is connected to the fixed end of the belt, and may be designated as the fixed end.

In pushing the free end of the belt into the buckle opening the slide will be pushed towards the fixed end. As the nose is turned towards the clamping position the initial tendency is to slide the opposed parts bodily in the reverse direction towards the clamping position, the parts being virtually self-adjusting for different thicknesses of material.

' In some instances, as with relatively thin material, it may be desirable to provide auxiliary: positive means for effecting the initial sliding movement of'the sliding-plate. One way to do this. is, as shown, to provide abutment lugs 31 on the slide-plate 11 that cooperate by their edges with the lugs 32 on the lever 12 as the lever is brought towards the clamping position. As shown, the abutment lugs 31 are incorporated in the structure of the acent limiting lugs 23 on the slide-plate 11 and the lugs 32 are provided as the end portions of pendant flanges or ribs 33 that extend along the lateral edges of the lever 12.

In the modification shown in Fig. 10 the spec al feature is the limiting means for limiting the sliding movement of the slides plate 11, the same operating substantially after the manner of the structure in the patent mentioned in that the limiting lugs 23 cooperate with the ribs 21 on said slideplate. Said lugs 23, however, differ in details as they are provided in the form of end extensions of wings 35 that in themselves are extensions of the material of the ears 25 that provide the bearing openings 26 for the pintles 18.

which the material is bent by a return bend, the wings being thus extended along the inner faces of the adjacent sidewalls 20. The wings'35 have openings in registration with the bearin'g openings26 for the passage of the pintles 18 i As described, the limiting means for limiting the sliding movement of the slide-plate comprises longitudinally spaced stop devices of some form that are provided on said plate, which plate cooperates with the lever as the moving clamping member. Between each pair of such stop devices and fixedly supported by the frame or body, which constitutes the fixed clamping member, there is effectively a fixed stop for cooperating with the spaced stop devices. 7

In both forms there is an absenceof'marring the side walls of the frame for providing the stop means, said side walls being plain and unbroken so far as concerns the details of the fixed stop. y

In the form utilizing the pintles as the fixed stop the, rotative -movement. of the.

clamping lever and the pintles does not, interfere with the use of the pintles' effectively as a fixed stop.

In the case of the modified form shown in Fig. 10 the lever 12 is provided'with a lug 82 011 a pendant flange 33 for effecting the initial starting of the sliding-plate 11 by abutting against the opposed transverse rib 21*. i

I claim as my invention 1- 1. In a buckle for belts, a: body of channel form, comprising a front wall that is bordered at the top and bottom edges by rear The wings 35 and ears 25 are connected along a fold1nglme 3'6 along wardly directed side Walls, said side walls having openings, a clamping lever having pintles that are individually housed in said openings, a slide member interposed between said lever and front wall and having a pair of longitudinally spaced transverse ribs, said slide member being operative to slide on said front wall, and means on said slide for cooperating with said pintles for limiting such sliding movement of the slide member.

2. In a buckle for belts, a frame or body or" channel form, a sliding member with spaced transverse ribs cooperating with said body, a clamping lever supported from said body by laterally directed pintles, and spaced lugs on said sliding member for co operating with said pintles for limiting the sliding movement.

3. In a-buckle for belts, a frame or body of channel form, a sliding member with spaced transverse ribs cooperating with said body, a clamping lever supported from said body for swinging movement, said clamping lever having pendant lugs for contacting with said sliding member for effecting an initial sliding movement thereof responsive to a swinging movement of the lever in the clamping direction and said lugs being in the form of downwardly directed flanges on said lever.

e. In a buckle for belts, a body of channel form, a sliding member for cooperating with said body, a clamping lever supported from said body, said clamping lever comprising a short arm for contacting with a belt and a long arm that serves as a handle, and said long arm having a pendant, flangelike lug for contacting with said slide member.

GE ORGE E, PRENTICE. 

